Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of guidance to the statutory charges recovery industry on (a) punitive charges and (b) income generation; and if she will make a statement.

No assessment has been made of statutory charging guidance nor the number of management companies used by the police and National Highways for vehicle recovery operations.

Details of the contracts and of the obligations between the parties to those contracts, are between the police, National Highways and individual contractors or managing agents whom the police and National Highways employ to run schemes on their behalf. These, and any other arrangements that might be made for vehicle recovery are operational matters for the police and Highways England.

The Home Office met with representatives of the recovery industry on 11 August to listen to their concerns. We advised the representatives that vehicle recovery contracts continue to be operational matters between the police, National Highways and individual recovery operators.

The Home Office’s role is limited to setting the statutory charges which the Police and National Highways can levy when they have exercised their recovery powers.